Steel floor construction



Jan. '8, 1935. w BURGESS -51- AL 1,986,998

STEEL FLOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed March 28, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS. Edward W. Burgess H g M- Vshling I fizmw ATTORNEY.

Jan. 8, 1935. E. w. BURGESS ET AL STEEL FLOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed March 28, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS. Edward \MBurgess' Hugo M.Vehling ATTORNEY.

Jan. 8, 1935.

E. W. BURGESS El AL STEEL FLOOR CONSTRUCTION 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 28, 1932 az I I l l i INVENTORS. Eduard. W.Burgess Hugo M.Vehling Z m ATTORNEY.

Patented Jan. 8, 1935 9 STEEL FLOOR Edward W. Burgess and Hugo M. Vehlin:

Wis., assignors to A. 9. Smith Corwaukee,

CONSTRUCTION Milporation, Milwaukee, Wis., a corp ration of New York Application March 28, 1932, Serial No. 601,512

9 Claims.

This invention relates generally to steel structures and particularly to steel floors or similar load supporting surfaces embodied in the structure of a building or the like.

Heretofore the floors of buildings of the steel framed type have ordinarily been constructed of tile or concrete or similarv comparatively heavy structural material. Such floors generally weigh as much or more than the load which they are designed to support.

In an effort to reduce the weight of the floor structures in steel framed buildings, some progress has been made in recent years in constructing the floors entirely of steel. Floors designed to support relatively heavy loads have been made by disposing in spaced relation a plurality of steel beams to the upper surfaces of which flat steel plates are secured in edge-to-edge relation by welding. These floors have been found to be very satisfactory and efficient in supporting comparatively heavy loads as in factory buildings and the like.

However, when floors are designed and cons'tructed for comparatively light floor loads, such as are supported by the floors of residences, school buildings, or the like, the beam and plate combination does not lend itself to the most eflicient utilization of the steel. Steel beams can be obtained ordinarily only in certain standard sizes and hence a. beam selected for use may be considerably heavier than necessary because a beam of exactly the desired shape and strength cannot be obtained. Even if special beams are made, it is difficult if not impossible to roll steel beams of sections thin enough to be economical in light floor structures. Further, the cost of erecting and welding the light floor structure is high in proportion to the cost of the steel.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a steel floor structure of ample strength and of light weight in which the steel is disposed in such manner as to function to best advantage in supporting the loads to which the floor may be subjected.

Another object of the invention is to provide a floor structure for a steel framed building which may be easily and rapidly erected.

A further object of the invention is to provide a steel structural element for a floor which combines in an integral unit the stringers or joists of a building and the load supporting floor surface.

. In accordance with the present invention, the floor of a steel framed building is constructed by disposing in contiguous relation a plurality of shaped floor plates of pressed steel that span the spaces from one to another girder of the building frame. Each of the floor plates is of substantially rectangular shape and is provided at its longitudinal edges with depending web portions, the lower edges of which are turned inwardly to form lower flanges. The depending webs and flanges at each side of the plate constitute spaced members of channel shape which function as stringers in supporting the floor plate on the spaced girders. To resist transverse bending of the floor plate, the mid-section thereof is corrugated transversely throughout its length. The vertical webs of the shaped plates may be provided with openings or formed of expanded metal to further lighten the structure and to permit the passage of pipes, conduits, or the like. In addition to being utilized as a floor, a structure embodying this invention may be utilized also as a roof or wall or other surface in a building.

The foregoing objects of the invention and others that will appear upon further reading of this specification in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, may be achieved by the structures there shown in the various views. of which: Figure l is a plan view of a steel floor structure embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a view of the floor structure partly in side elevation and partly in longitudinal section on the plane represented by the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view in cross-section of the floor structure taken on the plane represented by the line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 isa view in cross-section of one floor plate element taken on the plane represented by the line H of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a view in longitudinal section of a portion of a shaped floor plate taken on the plane represented by the line 5-5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a cover plate utilized to bridge the openings between the adjacent ends of contiguous channel plates;

Fig. 7 is a view in side elevation of the cover plate shown in Fig. 6; e

Fig. 8 is a view in cross-section of a special fiat plate utilized in making a shaped floor plate em bodying a modification of the invention;

Fig. 9 is a view in cross-section of a modified floor plate made from the flat plate shown in Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a view in side elevation of a portion of a shaped floor plate, the webs of which have been slit to permit expanding of the metal;

Fig. 11 is a view in side elevation of a shaped floor plate with the webs expanded;

Fig. 12 is a view in cross-section of a floor plate made in accordance with a modification of the invention;

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary view in cross-section of a floor plate modified to embody a reenforced lower flange; and

Fig. 14 is a fragmentary view in cross-section showing the lower flange of a floor plate reenforced by a strip of metal welded to it.

The steel floor structure embodying the invention and shown in plan in Fig. 1 is supported, as best shown in Fig. 2, on a plurality of horizontal girders 1 disposed in spaced parallel relation and constituting portions of the steel framework of a building. The steel floor structure carried by the girders 1 comprises a plurality of shaped sheet steel floor plate elements 2 of rectangular outline disposed in contiguous relation at right angles to the girders 1 and spanning the spaces between them. The upper surfaces of the floor plate elements 2 present a substantially level and continuous floor upon which any suitable floor surfacing material may be applied. The particular floor surfacing material shown by way of illustration, comprises a metallic grid 3 of the type covered by Patent No. 1,765,652, issued June 24, 1930, to E. W. Burgess, and assigned to the A. O. Smith Corporation. The metallic grid 3 is welded at intervals to the surface of the floor plates 2 and is filled with material suitable for floor surfacing.

Each of the similar floor plates 2 is formed from a single integral rectangular sheet of steel of suitable thickness, depending on the load to be supported by the floor. Ordinarily, the material is less than A," in thickness. As best shown in Fig. 4, the longitudinal edge portions of the rectangular sheet of steel are bent downwardly forming depending webs 4. The lower edges of the webs 4 are bent inwardly to horizontal position constituting lower flanges 5. The webs 4 and the lower flanges 5, when taken with plain marginal portions 6 at the upper edges of the webs, constitute substantially a pair of oppositely disposed side members 7 of channel shape that constitute trusses or f stringers for resisting longitudinal bending of the floor plates asthey span the spaces between the girders 1. The upper flanges 6 constitute the marginal sections of the top portion or floor surface of the element and are joined by an integral mid-section 8 that merges at its edges with the edges of; the marginal sections forming a substantially level load receiving surface.

In the same manner that the depending channel shaped edges? of the floor element function as beams or stringers in resisting longitudinal bending of the element, the mid-section 8 of the top portion is designed to constitute a secondary transverse beam spanning the space between the channel shaped edge portions and functioning to resist transverse bending. The transverse stiffness or resistance to bending of the mid-section 8 is obtained by forming corrugatioins 9 therein at right angles to the webs' 4 of the channel edge portions 7. The transverse corrugations 9 in the mid-section 8 may be formed in any suitable manner and may be suitably spaced to provide the desired transverse beam effect. Preferably the corrugations 9 are formed, as shown in Fig. 5, by depressing portions 10 of the mid-=section below the horizontal surface of the plate. The depressed portions 10 of the plate constitute, substantially, lower flanges which function with plain portions 11 of the mid-section 8 acting as upper flanges to constitute a plurality of secondary beams resistant to transverse bending.

, When the floor plates 2 are disposed in contiguous relation on the girders 1, as shown in Fig. 3, the webs 4 of adjacent elements are brought into juxtaposition and joined by any suitable means as a bolt 12 or by deposited weld metal 13. As shown in Fig. 1, the weld metal 13 may be deposited at intervals along the upper surface of the floor elements at their line of contact.

When the adiacent webs 4 are joined in this manner, they constitute with their combined lower flanges and upper flanges 6 the equivalent of an I-beam stringer. The steel floor structure embodying this invention may thus be said to be the equivalent of a plurality of spaced steel stringers of I-section disposed in parallel relation transversely of the girders of a building frame and supporting between them floor plates corrugated transversely constituting transverse secondary beams.

To obtain the maximum eniciency in the utilization of the steel in the floor structure, it is desirable that the stringers spanning the girders be joined end-to-end to constitute a continuous beam over a plurality 01 supports. This is accomplished in the floor constructed in accordance with the invention by joining the meeting ends of the channel shaped side portions 7 of the floor elements by welding. As it is inconvenient to weld the ends of the elements together from beneath the floor, the end portions of the midsection 8 of each channel plate is cut away to provide an opening 14 through which the welding may be accomplished in the downward direction by an operator working from the floor surface. In this manner the ends of adjacent elements 2 may be welded together readily and the lower flanges 5 of the elements welded to the girders 1. After the operation of welding together the ends of adjacent sections is completed, a suitable cover plate 15, shown in Figs, 6 and 7, is applied to the opening 14 in the floor surface provided by the cut-away end portions of the mid-sections 8 and secured in place by welding to close the opening and to thus present a continuous floor surface.

It has been found that the corrugated midportion 8 of the channel plate element 2 may be formed from thinner metal than the metal of the webs and flanges of the depending channel portions 7 and still possess adequate strength. This situation may be taken advantage of by preparing a special flat plate 16, as shown in Fig. 8, which is rolled in such manner that the midsection 17 of the plate is made thinner than the marginal sections 18. The thin mid-section 17 is then corrugated transversely and the thicker marginal sections 18 are bent to channel shape to form the shaped floor section shown in Fig. 9. The relative thickness of the mid-section and the marginal sections of the plate may be determined by taking into account the width of the floor section, its depth, the length of the span of the section, and other factors relating to its proportions. If the span to be bridged by the floor section is relatively long, it is clear that the marginal channel portions 18 will need to be of considerable strength and hence should be made of thicker metal than the transverse mid-section 17.

The same general structure may be made by forming a mid-section 19 and channel side members 20 from separate sheets of metal each of appropriate thickness and joining the upper flanges rectangular top portion corrugated transversely of the channel elements to the edges of the mid-section 19 by welding, as shown in Fig. 12. To facilitate the joining of the parts by welding, the inner edges 21 of the upper flanges of the channel members 20 are turned down to present vertical faces for engaging the edges of the corrugated mid-section 19. The welding of the structure may be accomplished in any well known manner as by flash welding or resistance butt welding or by the electric arc welding process.

To further lighten the floor plate section and to provide transverse passageways for pipes, conduits, or the like, the depending web portions 4 may be provided with a plurality of openings 22, as shown in Fig. 2, The openings 22 may be punched in the sheet metal before it is bent to channel shape and they may be so designed that the resulting channel side members will constitute substantially a truss structure. As shown in Figs. 10 and 11, the openings in the webs 4 may be formed by providing a plurality of discontinuous slits 2 3 longitudinally of the mid-portion of the web and drawing the lower flange 5 downwardly to expand the metal of the web.

Under some circumstances it may be desirable to strengthen or reenforce the lower flange 5 of the floor section. This may be accomplished by bending upwardly the inner edge 24 of the flange 5, as shown in Fig. 13. In accordance with another method, the lower flange 5 may be reenforced by welding to its inner edge a reenforcing strip of metal or bead 25, as shown in Fig. 14. These reenforcing elements 24 or 25 function to prevent the inner edge of the flange 5 from buckling or becoming otherwise deformed. Thus they reenforce the lower flanges in the same manner that the mid-section 8 of the floor plate reenforces the upper flanges 6.

The floor structure shown in the drawings and described in the foregoing specification is particularly adapted for use in steel framed buildings of the type used as apartment houses, hospitals, omce buildings, and the like. Floors constructed in this manner are much lighter than floors heretofore used and result in reducing the weight of the entire structure materially as the framing may be made lighter also.

In constructing a building utilizing floors embodying our invention, the steel floor plates are laid in place on the girders of the building frame by the structural steel workers, each successive floor being laid in place as soon as the steel framework for that floor is completed. After the floor plates are laid in position they serve as a working floor for the workmen. Henceit is not necessary to construct temporary floors or to delay other work which can be done only after the floors are in position. This results in greatly expediting the construction of the building.

Although we have shown and described only a few embodiments of the invention, others skilled in the art to which this invention relates will be able to practice it readily from the disclosure here given and may select relative proportions of the various elements of our floor plate section to meet their particular requirements, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A floor structure for a building comprising girders disposed in spaced parallel relation, a plurality of shaped plates carried by the girders and disposed in contiguous relation to span the spaces between the girders and provide a floor surface, each of said shaped plates having a throughout its mid-section and cut away at each end to provide an opening in the floor surface, a depending web portion at each longitudinal edge of the top portion, an inwardly turned flange at the lower edge of each web constituting with the web a channel side member, weld metal deposited through the openings joining the shaped plates end-to-end to form a continuous beam over the girders, and cover plates disposed to close the openings to present a continuous floor surface.

2. A shaped plate for a floor, comprising a horizontal portion having a mid-section of relatively thin sheet metal corrugated transversely and plain marginal sections of thicker sheet metal merging with the mid-section at each edge thereof, depending web portions at the outer edges of the marginal sections, and flanges at the lower edges of the web portions.

3. A shaped plate for a floor structure comprising a substantially rectangular top portion with corrugations extending transversely thereof, expanded metal web portions depending from the longitudinal edges of the top portion, and inwardly turned flange portions at the lower edges of the web portions.

4. A shaped steel plate for a floor comprising a horizontal top section corrugated transversely, and depending channel elements secured to the top section by welding flange edges of said channel elements to the longitudinal edges of said top member in abutting edgewise relation.

5. A shaped steel plate for a floor comprising a horizontal portion corrugated transversely, depending web portions having a plurality of openings therein at the outer edges of the horizontal portions, and flanges at the lower edges of the web portions.

6. The method of constructing the floors of a steel framed building with shaped plate sections having their mid-portions cut away at each end, that comprises the steps of disposing the plate sections on the steel frame of the building in contiguous relation to provide a continuous floor with openings formed by the cut-away midportions at the meeting ends of the sections, joining the meeting ends of the plate sections by welding through the openings in the floor, securing the sections to the frame of the building by welding through the openings in the floor, applying cover platesto the openings in the floor, and securing the cover plates to the sections by welding to close the openings.

7. The method of making a shaped plate floor element that comprises the steps of corrugating transversely a rectangular strip of sheet metal, bending to channel shape two other strips of sheet metal, disposing the channels in opposed spaced relation, disposing the corrugated strip between the channels in alignment with the upper flanges thereof, and welding the channel flanges to the edges of the corrugated strip to form a shaped plate resistant to bending in longitudinal or transverse direction.

8. A shaped plate for a floor, said plate being suitable for end-to-end assembly with another similar plate, the abutting ends resting upon a supporting structural element and comprising a substantially rectangular top portion corrugated transversely throughout its mid-section andcut away at each end to provide openings in the surface of the floor through which weld metal may be deposited for joining said plate end to end with a similar plate, a, depending web portion at each longitudinal edge of the top portion, and a 'flange at the lower edge of each web constituting with the web a beam side member. 9. A shaped plate for a floor comprising a sub- 5 stantially rectangular top portion corrugated I transversely throughout its mid-section and cut away at each end to provide openings in the surface 01. the floor through which weld metal may be deposited for Joining said plate end to end with a similar plate, a depending web portion at each longitudinal edge oi the top portion, and an inwardly turned flange at the lower edge of each web constituting with the web and marginal top portion a channel side member.

EDWARD W. BURGESS. HUGO M. VEHLJNG. 

